When you give up five runs in the first inning of a baseball game, it would be easy to just admit it isn’t your day.
But when your team evens it up by the time you go back out for the second inning, those feelings go away pretty quickly.
Such was the case for AHP Renegades hurler Sam Davis as he took to the bump on Thursday against the Etobicoke Rangers at The Road to Okotoks.
Just thinking it was a brand new 0-0 game, the 6-foot-6 southpaw began to deal while his offense provided plenty of breathing room with six runs in the third, three in the fourth and one more in the fifth to provide a mercy-shortened 15-5 decision.
For his part, Davis finished the day without allowing another hit or run while striking out eight to finish the complete game.
“When I pitch, I pitch for the team and nothing else,” Davis told Alberta Dugout Stories. “I pitch to win and tell my team that any way I can do that, I’m satisfied with it.”
The Beaumont native has shown time and time again why Greg Hamilton added him to the Baseball Canada Junior National Team earlier in the year, including the Prairie Qualifiers, where he tossed a six-inning gem against Webber Academy, striking out 10 in a 7-4 victory.
He is a big reason the Renegades find themselves going into the play-in round after a 3-1 round-robin at the main event in Okotoks.
“We’re super-pumped to be here after working all year with early mornings in the winter and coming in every day,” Davis said.
“Just showing off what we can do in the qualifier, beating some really good teams, and now we’re here playing our best ball.”
He says it’s a tight-knit group who can win in a variety of ways and has a truly balanced offense, as witnessed during his start when all but one starter in the batting order registered a run batted in.
It’s an approach the Renegades believe can allow them to lift the Morneau Cup on Sunday.
“I have absolute confidence in my team and our lineup to go up and beat any team here,” said the 16-year-old Virginia Tech University commit. “To put in all the work we have and to lead up to this moment, it would be absolutely unbelievable to win it all.”
The Renegades will face the Rangers in the play-in round on Saturday morning.
THE DAILY RUNDOWN
Josh Holden homered and drove in two while Carter Celerian also had a two-RBI morning as Mississauga beat Atlantic Frontier 11-5.
The trio of Kaleb Walker, Lucian Barker and Dylan Robinson allowed just five hits while striking out five as Gulls Prep doubled up the Abbotsford Cardinals 4-2.
The surprise of the day came from the Ontario Kobras as they got their first win of the tournament with a 9-5 decision over Vauxhall Academy. Cody Kee had three RBI in that one.
Zach Barker hit a three-run homer and that was enough as the Ontario Blue Jays shut down the Etobicoke Rangers 4-1.
Every single starter drove in at least one run while Jackson Bradford allowed just two hits in five innings of work as Team Sask mercied the Ontario Terriers 14-0 in five innings.
RBI doubles from Sloan Reid, Jayden Kane and Gabe Fink, along with a homer from Tyler Diprose, helped AHP come back from a 4-0 deficit to upend the Victoria Eagles 6-4.
Carter Bestebruer and Tyler Klemo drove in three runs apiece as the Langley Blaze took out the DT Selects 16-6.
L.C. Larouche picked up his third homer of the tournament while Taye Thierman also went yard as the host Dawgs Black mercied the UBC Thunder 16-0. Matthew Tran and Zander Guedes also combined to throw a four-inning no-hitter in the shortened contest.
FINAL ROUND-ROBIN STANDINGS
Pool A
Dawgs Black – 3-1
Gulls Prep – 3-1
Terriers Baseball – 2-2
Atlantic Frontier – 0-4
Pool B
UBC Thunder – 2-2
Abbotsford Cardinals – 2-2
Mississauga Tigers – 2-2
Team Saskatchewan – 2-2
Pool C
Vauxhall Academy – 3-1
Victoria Eagles – 2-2
Ontario Blue Jays – 2-2
DT Select – 0-4
Pool D
Langley Blaze – 3-1
AHP Renegades – 3-1
Etobicoke Rangers – 2-2
Ontario Kobras – 1-3
Main image provided by Scott Savard Photography.
You can get your tickets to The Road to Okotoks here or watch all games online here.
